26 i 
PARK AND GCnCTCRY. 
place in town streets or squares. They may wisely, 
perhaps, be placed near, or facing upon, the park; 
but to place them within it is simply to defeat the 
highest service which the park can render the com- 
munity. Large and conspicuous buildings, as well 
as statues and other monuments, are completely 
subversive of that rural quality of landscape the 
presentation and preservation of which is the one 
justifying purpose of the undertaking by a town of 
a large public park.” 
‘‘Most men of specialized training, such as ar- 
chitects, engineers and all grades of horticulturists, 
stand in need of an awakening before they are real- 
ly competent to have to do with park work. Each 
has to learn that his building, his bridge or road, 
his tree or flower, which he has been accustomed 
to think of as an end in itself, is, in the park, only 
a means auxiliary and contributive to a larger end 
— namely, the general landscape.” 
“In spite of a common popular prejudice to the 
contrary, it will generally be found that concave, 
rather than convex, portions of the earth’s surface 
are to be preferred for park sites. ” — Frederick Laiu 
Olmsted. 
“The element of interest which, beyond quest- 
ion, should be placed first, if possible, in the park 
of any great city is that of an antithesis to its bus- 
tling, paved, rectangular, walled-in streets — a re- 
quirement best met by a large meadowy ground of 
an open, free, tranquil character .” — Olmsted & 
Vaux. 
The English Oak. 
The reference to the English Oak in a rece-nt 
number of PARK and Cemetery, leads me to write 
of some that I saw in England last summer, and 
the accompanying illustration shows one growing 
in the ground of Appley Tower, near Ryde, Isle 
of Wight. It is true, as the writer says, that in 
this country this oak does not change the color of 
its foliage at all, but retains its green hue until the 
very last. All the’European oaks do this, notably 
the Hungarian and the Turkey, as well as the com- 
mon English. As so many of our native sorts 
change so beautifully, it is thought rather in favor 
of the English that it does not change, as its bright 
green makes a pleasing contrast. And in just the 
same way many value the Norway Maple, as it be- 
haves in a similar manner. 
The English oak is quite a feature in the Eng- 
lish landscape, and can always be recognized by 
the round-headed growth it makes. The illustration 
well represents them as usually seen. The whole 
of the Isle of Wight, excepting the cliff portion and 
the downs, as the elevations on it are called, is well 
covered with this oak. Their wide spreading limbs 
afford shade for large numbers of persons under 
one tree; and in the winter season pigeons eagerly 
ENGLISH OAK. 
seek the acorns. These trees are long lived, of slow 
growth and get to be very large. The dimensions 
of the one illustrated, I took myself and found it to 
be as follows: The circumference of trunk 21 feet; 
the spread of the branches 100 feet. And this 
grand tree appeared good for as many more years 
as it had already seen, so vigorous did it seem in 
every way. The owner of the grounds, Mr. Hutt, 
who kindly had the photograph taken for me, 
speaking of the oak for forestry purposes, remarked 
that it could be allowed to grow 200 years without 
its having passed the time for its best cutting. In the 
same connection he said the sweet chestnut might 
be given 60 years and the ash 100 years. 
In all public parks that I visited, the English 
oak had been given much prominence. There are 
so many of them of large size to be seen every- 
where, that it has misled many casual observers 
into believing that all the trees of England are 
round-headed and spreading, but this is not the 
case. There are gigantic horse chesnuts at Bushey 
Park and ponderous elms at Richmond Park, which 
are not of this character, the elms, particularly, 
were as tall as trees get to be here; and for massive- 
ness I never saw their equals. 
Referring again to the oaks on the Isle of Wight, 
a useful lesson is taught by their appearance there. 
I have often heard it said here that trees cannot be 
made to thrive in the vicinity of the sea, and I have 
as often combated the assertion. This island is 
surrounded by the waters of the English channel 
and if a place on earth can be found showing more 
thrifty trees and verdant fields, I do not know of it. 
The fact is planters need not have any fear of salt 
air. Salt spray may be injurious in some cases. 
